Asadal

Largest and Best Korean restaurant in London

Over the last few years, I have regularly met with friends and family from Korea, China, United States, and Europe at the ASADAL restaurant. Now we meet at the new ASADAL at Holborn tube station. We are always craving its great and high quality Korean food, but also to share time together in an atmosphere that reminds us of Korea. ASADAL is definitely our favourite Korean restaurant.

Some of our favourite dishes are:

Starter:
· Japchae (sweat potato /glass noodles with stir-fried vegetables)
· Handmade mandu (dumplings)
· Nice and almost crispy Pacheon (Korean pancake)
· Sae-woo-twe-gim – delicious type of King Tiger prawns and vegetable tempura to dip in a special sauce
· Kan-poong-gi – sweet and spicy fried chicken
Main course:
· Bibimpap (they have several varieties: normal, with raw meat or raw fish) and you can ask the level of spiciness
· Our favourite is the creamy sundubu chigae (soft tofu soup with seafood) or kimchi chigae (kimchi soup)
· Bulgogi (Korean barbecue). It is even better with Sang-chu that’s the fresh leaves of lettuce and Korean bean paste
· Dak-galbi, that's the spicy marinated chicken with vegetables that they cook at your table

Dessert:
· Fresh fruits always cut in a special way
· Children (and adults) also enjoy ice cream
· Alternatively, they have the sik hae or Korean sweet rice punch

Note that ASADAL also accommodates for our vegetarian friends. It is easily identifiable on the menu, but to make sure I always notify the waiter/waitress.

The restaurant can accommodate large crowds. It is possible to eat within the intimacy of our own group of people at a very large table. There are dividers and even free private rooms.

ASADAL is a child-friendly place. . I heartily recommend it, as it is our favourite restaurant!!! Ms. Lee

Do not come here.

I used to love this place, recommended it to friends and even organised a work function here, but this place has become bad and is a dissappointment on all fronts:

* terrible service
* very salty food
* lukewarm miso soup
* overpriced menu

No time to look at the menu.
They cleared plates from around us, brang out a quarter of orange (meant for dessert) and gave us the bill - ALL WHILE WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF EATING. They then interrupted my partner WHILE he was on the phone to tell us the restaurant was closed and we had to leave NOW.

We arrived for lunch at 2pm, and finished in 1 hour. The thing is, there are no signs to say opening hours on the door and when we arrived the waiter who seated us did not warn us that they were going to close or that it may be rushed at any point.

This was the worst experience and I concur with the other reviews. Do not come here. You deserve to be treated better.

I visited Asadal tonight, with a friend. We asked some people coming out whether it was worth going in. They said that the food was delicious and seemed very happy. The restaurant is in a basement. Quite swish decor, though a bit too staid and hotel like for my personal preference.

The service was appalling, with the first waiter walking off in a huff when we weren't quite sure what to order. The waiting staff look quite unhappy, but there's a couple of them who manage an occasional smile, when interacted with.

The food was not bad at all, but certainly didn't justify the prices. We are talking 20-30 pounds for alot of dishes which you could pick up for 7 or 8 pounds in any other restaurant.

I wouldn't go back, but my friend said he might...

Having eaten my fair share of Korean food, I would state without hesitation that the Asadal serves the best there is. I have tasted Korean food in Korea, in the USA and in various parts of London but this tops them all.

The restaurant is stylish and welcoming without being pretentious. I love the silver chopsticks which is a typical Korean feature. My favourite dishes are the sundubu chigae (a spicy seafood stew) which is served sizzling in a clay pot, and the bibimbap, a healthy mixture of diced vegetables, beef and rice with as much gochujang red chilli paste as you dare!

After reading reviews about this place, I had my doubts. However, having eaten there, I would recommend Asadal. The decor is interesting, the food is good and the prices are competitive. Korean BBQ is probably the main draw for Korean restaurants and every table has a grill. The menu is pretty comprehensive and similar to other places I've been to. The service isn't great, but these young people are likely to be students and not pro-waiting staff. They are friendly and helpful, so service is far from poor. The food comes on time and it is some of the best I have tasted. Unlike many other Korean restaurants, a slice of orange is not provided and the choice of dessert is very limited. Try'e

As a visiting tourist of Korean descent, I was frankly shocked at the appallingly poor service here. The food itself was no more than decent, but the rude service far outweighs whatever merits the food may have held. Wow. I was embarrassed that these people are representing Koreans to Londoners. While I consider myself to be an ambassador of Korean food and introduce it to others regularly, I definitely hope Asadal remains unknown. The mediocre enthusiasm for producing the food and the most definite disdain for customers cannot explain why these people have chosen to enter the restaurant business. Please, find another, more worthy Korean restaurant to try! Heck, eat an apple. AVOID.

Discovered this place just by chance whilst waiting for someone outside Holborn station. Inside this basement restaurant was a very calming and relaxing atmosphere compared to the huslte of Holborn tube. We opted for several korean dishes which were recommended by the waiter, each extremely tasty and beautifully presented. The best however was the BBQ meats. The marinated beef was tender and juicy as was the marinated chicken. Each BBQ cooked to perfection for us by our helpful waitress. We found the staff polite and helpful when needed...the use of the bell(found on the table leg) to gain the staff's attention should be compulsory for all restaurants. FANTASTIC!!!

Wonderful food, friendly staff, pleasant decor, spacious and peaceful. The menu has a good range of options: more or less fancy/expensive/exotic.

Two of us had a main course with kim chi, soup, dumplings and tea for £10.50 each (not including tip).

By the way - the entrance is on Kingsway, not Holborn, to the lef of Holborn Tube station.

A lovely atmosphere and great service. People were friendly and more than helpful even with our little daughter in tow.

Divided up in the many areas and private dinning areas you can have any sort of experience here, from a buffet to a intimate meal for two, but the family experience is best for this sort of place, but with surroundings usually found in places much further up the scale.

Go and enjoy.